My Colorful Monochromatic Life: Book Review: The Single Woman (by Mandy Hale)

The back cover says, "Happy is still Happy, with or without the Ever After." While I'm definitely not what the author aims herself to be (aka 'single for life'; at least that's how she sounded to me), I'd take this book and look at it as a guide; a confirmation that I can be happy and free to live the kind of life that I wanted even without a 'significant other' (for now).

Although I don't agree with everything this book said, I come to realize a few things after reading Mandy Hale's The Single Woman:

There are men out there who are scared to be in a relationship with independent, successful women. Why? I have no idea.
Embracing singlehood doesn't mean you don't want to ever settle. It means enjoying the life you currently have even without the Knight in Shining Armor that will save you from falling down, because you're not a damsel in distress and you know that you can get your ass back up on your own and out of a loophole without his help.
It's times like these when you find your true friends; ones that will not push you to your grave when you're recovering from a heartbreak, but will help you stand up stronger and more beautiful (or lets you whine for a while then drags you back up to give you a sense of reality).
Being single (no matter what your age is) is the perfect opportunity to find yourself, do what you love to do, and achieve your goals so that when you finally found 'the one', all you'll have to do is share your blessings and make your (and his) circle of life bigger and brighter.

Truth be told, I never really thought I'd be able to experience this, being in my age and still not having 'someone' so it irritates me whenever some jerk asks me, "why are you still single?" or "when are you going to get married?" or my own personal favorite, "how come you don't have a boyfriend? Sayang ang ganda at lahi mo." I mean, if you're so hell-bent on dating and marrying then why don't YOU marry yourself or better yet, why not shut up and mind your own f*cking business?!

Do I envy my taken or married friends? No, not really. Why should I? I finished college, is (sorta) living my dream job, and is earning money for myself. Why should I envy not being in their position? More importantly, why should I hurry to settle down or even force myself to find a partner? It's not as if I can buy four of them at a time and pick the most interesting one first like a book.

I guess that's what growing up really is like, you know. As you age, people expect you to settle, even if it means dating someone you don't even have a connection or similarities with. I know what you're going to say next; opposites attract, right? That it doesn't matter whether you're attracted to the person, as long as you know how to play the game? Well, in case you forgot, one thing that is vital about starting a relationship with someone is, guess what, attraction. Why would I force myself to have a relationship with someone I am not attracted to?

One of my best friends once told me that I still live in 'the fairytale land'; that I still think that guys in books really do exist in real life. We may not exactly have those guys in real life, but didn't the authors of those sappy romance novels we read drew those "perfect guys" from someone they know? I mean, sure, no one can be that perfect, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. They do. I just haven't found him yet.

They say that in order to love and be loved by someone, you must first love yourself. I may not have found the one person I will spend the rest of my life with yet, but that doesn't mean I have to live each of my days as a single girl being bullied by 'attached', insensitive people who think they know what's best for me. Because at the end of the day, it's my life I am living and I will live it exactly how I want it to while patiently waiting for my very own Prince Charming who will make my Ever After happier. I don't care how long it will take me. I'm going to wait 'till I find my Robin Hood to my Regina; my Rumple to my Belle; my Charming to my Snow; my Leo to my Piper; my Big to my Carrie; my Harry to my Ginny; my Ron to my Hermione; my Eric to my Ariel; my Coop to my Phoebe, and I can go on all the ships that I ship but one thing these ships have in common is simple-true love takes time. It's not about exploding fireworks all the time because sometimes love comes so silently you barely notice its arrival. True love isn't easy but it comes to each of us in its own time and I know, no, I believe I'll get there someday. I have faith.